Even though he was shifted into the form of a giant gorilla, Garfield Logan struggled to keep on his feet. The driving rain had continued to strengthen, buffeting himself, Starfire, and the California National Guard which were trying to prepare for the storm as best as possible.
For the number of years he had lived in Jump City, Beast Boy had seen his share of storms, but this one was something completely different. The air whipped at his fur and the cold rain soaked through the layers directly to the skin. His body desperately wanted to shiver, but it took everything he had to just focus on the sandbags, the metal supports, and anything else he had to touch to keep the city from crumbling.
"Hey, big guy!" shouted a voice through the din of the torrential downpour. Beast Boy looked down from the one-story roof he was on at the soldier yelling up at him. Even with the camouflaged raincoat over his uniform, the man looked thoroughly soaked. "Some of my men need help towards the north. They're having trouble getting some of the cement barriers in place."
"Yous got it!" Beast Boy called out and quickly traversed the rooftops towards his destination. Adrenalin still flowed through his system as this was the first time that Robin had completely left him and Starfire alone to make decisions. The Titans were so spread out that each had to rely on their own experience and judgment to protect the terrified civilians that did not escape.
Garfield had heard the call over the soldier's walkie talkie that the time had passed to flee and the emergency radio broadcasts were telling those who had not yet left the city to find high ground and to hunker down. The storm was to close now to cross the bridge. From what he heard, they were blocking the bridge to protect the idiot who would try to flee in the middle of the downpour.
A blast of lightning ripped across the sky in such a brilliant flare that it momentarily disoriented the shapeshifter. Everything about this storm felt deadly. The bolt seemed to want to rend the bruised air to shreds while the thunder exploded with such ferocity, Beast Boy was forced to duck his head out of instinct.
The corner that the National Guard Sergeant told him about came up abruptly, and Beast Boy surveyed the scene. Soldiers were moving quickly trying to set up concrete barriers and sandbags along a sloping part of the road where water had already begun to form a stream. Flooding was a concern in the older portions of Jump City and creating direction away from housing and business was essential to mitigate the damage. The shapeshifter's eyes were drawn to a thin form carry a hand full of fifteen-pound sandbags with ease. It was draped in a baggy camo raincoat lent by a soldier and a soaked floppy hat to match. The matted red hair peeking out told him who it was. Leaping from his spot, he effortless shifted to a gazelle, bounded to her and then into his own form.
Koriand'r looked up at him with those dewy green eyes. They looked fatigued and vague.
"Star?"
"I...I am growing tired, Beast Boy," she whispered her voice almost lost in the wind. Grabbing one of the bags and remembering to turn into an orangutang before it drug him to the ground, he quickly put the sandbag in its spot and saw Kori place hers and stay leaning there.
"Star, are you alright?"
The Tamaranian nodded, but Garfield was not quite sure he believed her. He did not get a chance to press the point when he heard a crack. Instinct and experience made him turn to see a telephone pole in across the street snap from the wind and begin to fall towards the cluster of soldiers that was trying to get out of the way. Shifting into an elephant as he barreled down the road that had become part river, he grabbed hold of it with his trunk and steered it away, so the power cables landed harmlessly on the sidewalk. They sparked and shot white-hot electricity all around.
"Everyone okay?" Beast Boy shouted, and the positive response affirmed it. Nobody had been hurt yet.
Moving swiftly, Garfield continued to help build the wall until the driving rain finally made him thinking of finding shelter.
"That's it, Titan!" called the Sergeant as he hunkered down in Beast Boy's elephant shadow clear of the rain. "Command just recalled us. The edge of the story is fifteen minutes from landfall. It's a full-blown category 5. We need everyone in to shelter now!"
"Roger that, sir!" Beast Boy responded. "We're going to make our way back to the tower. Your men going to be okay?"
"Yeah! We're heading inland where we have a rescue base set up for when the storm ends. You sure you don't want to come with us?"
The man looked at him, but Beast Boy shook his head. "Others might need us, and we stand a better chance in this storm. I can't abandon Robin."
"Completely understand, son," he said, a smile reaching the grizzled veteran's face. "You and the lady keep yourself safe."
"Same to you, Sarge."
Heading in opposite directions, Beast Boy scanned the dispersing crowd of soldiers trying to find his friend. He saw her, standing in the middle of the road visibly shivering. Concern swept over him as her lovely orange skin was no longer it's vibrant color but had taken on an ashen hue. Her eyes seemed vacant, and she did not move out of the torrential downpour of icy water that struck them hard.
"Star! Starfire! Koriand'r!" Beast Boy yelled trudging to her against the onslaught of wind.
"Gar," her voice barely being audible. "I...I...I think I underestimated your planet's cold. Tamaran is...is...is s….s….so much warmer. Gar, I can't feel my skin."
Hypothermia. Thank goodness he had been listening to Robin's lesson on identifying and treating hypothermia. Well, he was interested when he heard that you had to undress the person suffering from it and then wondered if Raven could suffer from being that cold. Of course, she sensed his thought and "accidentally" took a misstep and poured her entire cup of tea over his head.
This was not fun. The girl in front of him had stopped shivering, and the light was going out of her eyes.
"We have to go, Kori," Beast Boy said reassuringly. He shifted back to the gorilla and scooped her up into his arms, pressing her close to his fur. He hoped that it would keep her warm enough for him to get to somewhere safe.
Her skin was ice cold against his own and fear thrilled through his heart.
"Kori!"
She had become unresponsive.
There was no time to waste, gauging the general direction of the tower, he bounded as fast as his ape body would take him. Massive leaps, quick swings and hard-charging through the downpour, Beast Boy made his way towards safety while clutching his friend close to him. He could barely feel her breathing.
He slammed through the wind and rain, the drenching torrents blinding him and no matter how much wiping of his eyes, they stung and struck him making it difficult to see. When the wind surprisingly died, he looked about and found himself in the warehouse district of Jump City.
'Damn! I made a wrong turn.'
There was no time now. The howl and Gar's animal senses told him that any longer outside, the storm would kill them. Spotting a broken tall window of an abandoned warehouse, He leaped through and into the damp interior. The smell of rotting wood, rusted iron, and dirt assailed his nostrils, and his ears immediately began to ring from the abrupt shift in sound.
He did not wait, Beast Boy continued to charge through looking for the safest place for his friend. The warehouse had a cluster of little buildings inside the center, probably where the foreman and machinists would work. He pulled open the door and gratefully found it unlocked. It was the storage room that had no windows, a chair and to his happiness, a pile of old survival blankets and pillows still in their plastic seal.
"Hang in there, Kori," Garfield said as he set the frail form gently on the ground. He shifted back into his standard form and began to tear through the plastic and built a little nest of blankets and pillows in the cleanest corner. Lifting her into his arms, Beast Boy took her to it and set her down in front.
The next part though, his heart thrilled with excitement and fear. Starfire's life was in danger, but he felt like he was going to violate her. She was such a beautiful, pure creature, he could never sully her reputation.
It was Robin's voice in his head, the guiding sound that helped him focus. "You have to do whatever it takes to keep your team safe. When someone is injured, they are your responsibility."
Garfield jaw was firm. He had to save his friend, this was stupid and juvenile. If he did not get the soaked clothes off of her, she was going to die. Removing the raincoat, he saw that her purple uniform top and skirt had been completely soaked through. Beast Boy took and breath and gently tugged her top off trying to keep his eyes on her navel and nowhere else. It took him a few seconds to find the zipper for her skirt, but with a little pull and a tug, he was able to peel the simple piece of fabric off. He hesitated at her simple rainbow printed panties, but he could not risk it. He tugged those off quickly and scooped her up trying not to feel every inch of her naked body against him. Beast Boy set Starfire down gently among the blankets and quickly covered her up. Her eyes were closed, but at least she was out of the rain.
Of course, no matter how much he had tried to be a gentleman, he had seen Starfire in all her naked glory, and that was not an image that was going to go away anytime soon. Garfield hoped that she could forgive him for taking such liberties that Robin would beat him senseless for.
'I need to find some survival supplies. This place has to have something to help us survive this storm.'
Hesitating for only a second, he saw that her breathing had become a bit more natural. Beast Boy knew he had to hurry and find some supplies to keep her alive until help could come.